Abstract
Family meals are positively associated with increased consumption of fruits and vegetables
and numerous nutrients, promoting good eating habits and disease prevention. Families
benefiting from home-cooked meals are more likely to consume smaller portions and
fewer calories, less fat, less salt, and less sugar. Some Western cultures have lost
confidence in preparing meals and tend to rely on foods prepared outside the home.
The ability of young adults to prepare foods at home may be impaired. The purpose
of our study is to identify motivators and, consequently, barriers to preparing foods
at home vs purchasing preprepared foods from a deli or eating in a restaurant. Focus
groups of college students (n=239) from two universities were asked questions about
motivators to preparing meals at home in two subsequent sessions. The primary motivators
among the students were that they desired to save money; had a model in food preparation;
were familiar with cooking techniques; and had enough time to shop, cook, and clean
up after meals. Food and nutrition practitioners have opportunities to promote cost-effective,
simple, and time-saving home food preparation techniques as healthful habits.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Barriers and motivators to healthful eating.Tex Assoc Fam Consum Sci. 2010; 1: 24-25
- Correlations between family meals and psychosocial well-being among adolescents.Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004; 158: 792-796
- Family dinner and diet quality among older children and adolescents.Arch Fam Med. 2009; 9: 235-240
- Family meal patterns: Associations with sociodemographic characteristics and improved dietary intake among adolescents.J Am Diet Assoc. 2003; 103: 317-322
- Shared meals among young adults are associated with better diet quality and predicted by family meal patterns during adolescence.Public Health Nutr. 2013; 16: 883-893
- Family dinner and diet quality among older children and adolescents.Arch Fam Med. 2000; 9: 235-240
- Family meals during adolescence are associated with higher diet quality and healthful meal patterns during young adulthood.J Am Diet Assoc. 2007; 107: 1502-1510
- Meal production in the 21st century home: Baking practices.J Fam Consum Sci. 2003; 95: 68-72
- Quantifying the impact of food preparation skills among college women.Coll Student J. 2006; 40: 729-739
- Whole grain intake correlates among adolescents and young adults: Findings from Project EAT.J Am Diet Assoc. 2010; 110: 230-237
- Is there a culinary skills transition? Data and debate from the UK about changes in cooking culture.J Home Econ Inst Australia. 2001; 8: 2-14
- Confident, fearful and hopeless cooks: Findings from the development of a food skills initiative.Br Food J. 2004; 106: 274-287
- The impact of a community-based food skills intervention on cooking confidence, food preparation methods and dietary choices. An exploratory trial.Public Health Nutr. 2007; 10: 203-211
- Food preparation knowledge and confidence of young adults.J Nutr Recipe Menu Dev. 2005; 3: 37-50
- Confidence to cook vegetables and the buying habits of Australian households.J Am Diet Assoc. 2009; 109: 1759-1768
- Psychosocial determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among adults: Results of focus group interviews.Food Qual Pref. 1995; 6: 99-107
- Constraints upon food provisioning practices in “busy” women's lives. Trade-offs which demand convenience.Appetite. 2008; 50: 486-498
- What's for dinner? Factors that influence food choices.Today's Dietitian. 2007; 7: 68
Density of food at home and away from home: 2003-04. http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-consumption-and-nutrient-intakes.aspx#.U1XYeld6KSo. Updated June 15, 2011. Accessed April 21, 2014.
- Association of out-of-home eating with anthropometric changes: A systemic review of prospective studies.Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2014; 54: 1103-1116
- Away-from-home family dinner sources and associations with weight status, body composition, and related biomarkers of chronic disease among adolescents and their parents.J Am Diet Assoc. 2011; 111: 1892-1897
- Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research.Sage Publications, Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA2008
- Family meals: Perceptions of benefits and challenges among parents of 8- to 10-year-old children.J Am Diet Assoc. 2008; 108: 706-709
- Focus groups with working parents of school-aged children: What's needed to improve family meals?.J Nutr Educ Behav. 2011; 43: 189-193
- Perceived benefits, barriers, and strategies of family meals among children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and their parents: Focus-group findings.J Am Diet Assoc. 2010; 110: 1302-1306
2014 Consumer trends. http://www.restaurant.org/News-Research/Research/Research-Reports. Accessed April 21, 2014.
Black J. “You Plan, I'll Cook: Leaving the Menu to Others.” August 21, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/dining/planning-your-menu-with-some-help.html?_r=0. Accessed September 26, 2012.
- Perceptions of factors influencing healthful food consumption behavior in the lower Mississippi delta: Focus group findings.J Nutr Educ Behav. 2008; 40: 102-109
Biography
S. A. Jones is an associate professor of nutrition and director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX.
Biography
J. T. Phifer is a student, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX.
Biography
J. Walter is a professor of family and consumer sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX.
Biography
L. Soliah is a clinical nutrition professor, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater; at the time of the study, she was a professor and director, Nutrition Sciences Program, Baylor University, Waco, TX.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 25, 2014
Accepted:
May 1,
2014
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
